Archive for the ‘adidas’ Category

The Belgian sports outlet Sporza has us on their videozone clip of Justine at Friday night’s adidas Barricade party. You remember, the one where we chatted it up with Justine about owning her own restaurant and wanting to take her phone on a desert island.

Click the image to watch the video, where we ask her about said phone on island.

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Justine with her fellow Barricade-wearers (Tsonga, Ivanovic, Murray) pose with the giant shoe cake at the adidas party Friday night in New York.

TSF got a chance to sit down with Justine Henin last night, a surprise guest at the adidas party celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Barricade shoe. Henin injured herself at Wimbledon, and pulled out of the US Open earlier this summer before announcing that she wouldn’t be back to playing on the tour until 2011. We knew that Justine would be getting the run around about her injury, if she’s staying in New York to watch some of the Open and the like, so we thought we’d take a light-hearted approach and ask the Belgian a few off-the-wall questions and see if she might want to become NYC besties. -NM

TennisServedFresh: Justine great to see you. If you could own your own business after your tennis career, what would it be?Justine Henin: I would like to have my own restaurant, I don’t know which kind, but I would have to have a place in Brussels. Maybe a place with nice wine, a place that I can go with my friends and have a nice dinner.TSF: So maybe you could boss people around?JH: Yes! Exactly! (Laughing.) I don’t know what kind of boss I would be. I don’t have that kind of experience so I’m not sure. But it interests me a great deal.

TSF: If you were stranded on a desert island, what one possession would you take with you? JH: My phone. Even if it wouldn’t work. Me and my phone… I hate to be alone.TSF: That’s surprising to me, since you seem so quiet.JH: Right, that’s what you think! (Laughing.) I talk all the time. I always have my friends and family around. They are encouraging me to have alone time, but I love to be with them and to be social. I hate to be by myself. I know I look quiet, but that’s not the case. And maybe a book, too, I love to read.TSF: What if you took an iPad? That way you could use Google phone and read your book.JH: Perfect. I would love that.

TSF: What music are you listening to right now?
JH: I like French music. I listen to a lot of stuff from YouTube.I really like a variety of stuff. I like Coldplay a lot, too.TSF: Do you ever listen to yourself sing? You know, from your variety show days?JH: Well I love to go sing karaoke and in the shower, yes.TSF: What about having karaoke at your imaginary restaurant in Brussels?JH: Oh yes! We’ll have karaoke after people have a few drinks. (Laughing.)

TSF: What’s your absolute favorite city in the world?
JH: For me, it’s Paris. It’s the most beautiful place in the world. You can look in any direction in Paris and everything looks so beautiful. I love that place in terms of history – my mom was a history teacher – and it is a place of such great culture. I don’t think I could ever live there, but I love it. And I love Montreal, too.

TSF: You’re always so fit and eating so healthy. What’s one thing in New York that you’ll chow down on while you’re here?
JH: I don’t know. I wouldn’t go for a big burger… maybe a nice big breakfast with waffles and pancakes. A big brunch? Or New York cheesecake sounds good.

Kim Clijsters threw out the first pitch after meeting the Mets team in Queens on Friday in New York. A day earlier, she was the USTA’s guest of honor at the draw ceremony (AP photo via Yahoo! Sports).

RalphLauren.com pulled out all the stops on Thursday afternoon for an event featuring Venus Williams, in which Venus took questions from online submissions from around the world in a live clinic. At the Sportime Randall’s Island tennis center in New York, Venus was on court for the first time in a public setting since her eyebrow-raising loss to Tsvetana Pironkova in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. But instead of thwacking errors and a look of confusion, Venus was all smiles and tennis knowledge in the clinic, which was hosted by the British TV personality (and former player) Annabel Croft.

Venus, who is the no. 3 seed at the US Open and one of the favorites though she hasn’t been on tour in two months, talked fitness, forehands and gave plenty of tennis tips from her 26 years of experience on the court. The event was hosted by Ralph Lauren and Mercedes Benz, based on RL’s homepage for viewers to log in and watch live while Venus answered questions relayed by Croft. (Watch a full replay of the clinic here or click on the image after the jump.)

“It’s good for me to remember the basics when I’m about to play a big tournament,” Venus said, referring to the Open. Venus partnered with Ralph Lauren in the design of the dress she wore, a white number emblazoned with the logo of Eleven, Venus’s clothing line.

Guests were greeted with sweet mint tea, pistachio ice cream sandwiches and caramelized popcorn on the upper deck at Randall’s Island, which hosts the New York Sportimes during the World Team Tennis seasons. Male models clad in red Ralph Lauren polos dished out the goods as Venus strode through the crowd on her way to hair and make up (this was a live, online clinic, after all).

The clinic was a part of a myriad of events happening in New York this week, which all lead up to the big show at Flushing Meadows starting on Monday.

Busy New York beeMelanie Oudin on her 2010 U.S. Open miadidas Barricade 6.0 shoes from adidas: “The reason I chose the word COURAGE is because in order to believe you have to have the courage to do so… Courage to me means playing with no fear and going for it no matter what. You can believe in yourself so much but unless you have the courage to go on the court and put yourself on the line every time you won’t make it. You need courage and belief to make it to the top.”

Kit: Melanie will complement the vibrant colors of this shoe with her Fall Barricade tank and skort, both in “Collegiate Purple” and “Radiant Red”. Can’t wait to see it all in action next week!

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Oudin knows the camera (phones) will be turned on her over the next two weeks. “Crazy things happen in NYC.” (TSF photo)

Brand Oudin is making its biggest push in New York this week, one year after Melanie Oudin wowed the New York crowds and captured the nation’s attention with her eye-popping upsets. Oudin is part of campaigns with adidas, American Express and Virgin Mobile in and around NYC to promote the Open (and said products), even though the American teen is a dismal 3-11 on tour since May.

The web was buzzing earlier this week with the announcement that Oudin would wear customized adidas shoes, this year with the word “Courage” emblazoned on them. Last year, her “Believe” shoes were a US Open obsession, spawning what many called “Melanie Mania” and setting Oudin up for commercial success with deals with companies like Virgin Mobile. The Women Who Serve blog said if it were really up to Oudin she might have wanted to chose “Forget” to go on her shoes this year… as in forget last year’s Open.

But if Oudin wants to Oops! Do it again, she’ll have to do all those things: have courage, believe in herself and forget. The New York media will be shameless in the coverage and glamorization of Oudin in her return to New York, even the girl has obviously worked hard in the gym (check the adidas link… those biceps!) but hasn’t seen results on the court. Can’t we all just leave her alone? C Note thinks that’ll help, too.

After the cut: ad shots from Oudin’s adidas customized shoe and the American Express video. (more…)

Caroline Wozniacki might be adidas‘ choice to sport the much-coveted Stella McCartney line on the court, but her predecessor, Ana Ivanovic, still books the corner spot when it comes to ad space.

The adidas Soho store in New York has a bank of windows full of tennis players and gear (Wozniacki, Ivanovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray) in anticipation for the US Open, but while Wozy might have the most square footage of any subject with her McCartney display, it’s Ivanovic and Murray who get one of Manhattan’s busiest street corners (Broadway and Houston) to peer over all day long.

There’s no Maria Kirilenko (the former Stella gal) in sight in the window display (full photos after the jump), nor does 2009 US Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin make an appearance.

I’m fine with it, BUT NOT ALL THE TIME, okay? (When in Southern California, do as the Angelenos do…)

Top seed (and wild card) Andy Murray is hobbling his way through the draw at this week’s Farmers Classic in Los Angeles. He needed to go to a tiebreak before brushing off Federer-killer Alejandro Falla 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 in the quarterfinals. He plays Feli Lopez in the semis. Lopez beat James Blake 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.

Props to Ana Ivanovic for getting through her first-round match against the hard-hitting Alisa Kleybanova at the Bank of the West Classic, happening this week in Stanford, Calif. (Vid: Ana’s presser)

The Serbian has had a rough couple of months, losing super-early on the clay of Madrid and Roland Garros (to Kleybanova), plus on grass at ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Wimbledon. Her next opponent at this hardcourt event will be the winner of Bartoli vs. Harkleroad (Draw:Singles).

And speaking of, Nick will covering the event on-site tomorrow, so look out for tweets and posts. (Welcome to California!)

Meeting Murray:Andy Murray might be back with girlfriendKim Sears, but that shouldn’t stop you from working on getting up close to the top ATP Brit. adidas has started a raffle that could win you a meet-up with Andy in Miami (plus some Barricade-themed goods). It’s another part of their recent campaign (remember the adizine?) to toast this tennis shoe. Raffle: Enter here.

Street ping pong: From July 24 through August 22, Londoners can look out for 100 ping pong tables that will pop up across all across the city (including firehouses, apparently), all to be used for pick-up games. More info at ping.etta.tv/.

Updates for L.A.: The Bryan Brothers are playing two venues on the eve of their appearance at next week’s Farmers Classic in L.A. They’ll be at Air Conditioned Lounge in Venice and at Molly Malone’s on Fairfax. No word yet on where Nole will perform his burlesque act.

Lacoste jewelry: Lacoste will debut a line of jewelry at the same time it shows the Spring/Summer 2011 show this September. Expect to see necklaces, bracelets, and charms for bags and mobile phones. (via styelist)

Turn your two cents into $100k: From now until July 26, vote for the Best Tennis Town in the U.S.. The finalists are Beaverton, Ore., Atlanta, Ga., Charleston, S.C., Clearwater, Fla., Delray Beach, Fla., Manchester Center, Vt., Richmond, Va., Rome, Ga., Rosemount, Minn., and Snow Hill, N.C. With $100,000 up for grabs, everyone means business: Delray Beach temporarily renamed itself Tennis Beach, Fla., to get folks in the spirit. Vote: Place your vote in this USTA-sponsored contest at www.besttennistown.com.

(ot) Lego my buildings: The National Building Museum is currently showing Towering Ambition, the work of LEGO Certified professional Adam Reed Tucker. He’s built 15 large-scale replicas of famous structures, including the Empire State Building, St. Louis’ Gateway Arch, and Fallingwater.

(ot) we want — CDG: We’re on a year-long shopping diet that ends March 1, 2011, so consider this our version of chewing and then spitting it out. We love the Gossamer-esque Comme des Garçons v-neck sweater in black (via Tobi)

(ot) Is that a bone in your briefs…? The skeletal theme of Alexander McQueen‘s branding has now made its way to underwear — one of the British designers final projects. Bonus round: See a teaser ad for the line here). (via oki-ni)

(ot) etsy on our mind: Oakland, Calif.-based artist John Carling is busy dreaming up the cutest monsters this side of Where The Wild Things Are. We love this whale print, “Everything is Vibrating“. (via Thrillist SF)

Nature, 1; humans, 0: The Horton Plains slender loris, a tiny Sri Lankan mammal thought to be extinct, was recently captured on film. Nature, 0; humans, 1: The last female rhino at South Africa’s Krugersdorp National Park died after poachers took her horn. R.I.P.

Stella McCartney continues to flex her athletic apparel muscle by signing on as creative director of adidas‘s United Kingdom 2012 Olympics and Paralympics kits.

While McCartney’s expertise now includes golf, cycling, tennis, and dance, she’ll need to step it up in order to incorporate all the sports (which’ll require different fabrics and silhouettes). “So there are challenges,” she toldVogue. “I have a million challenges. I have to make it look good on TV, I have to make it feel good for the athletes, I have to make it work — technically it has to do its job. But I think they’re all good challenges — I like a challenge.”

Fans, fear not: Us non-athletes will also get a taste of Stella’s take on this worldwide event; a range for the masses will drop in the fall.

TSF’d been really curious to know how McCartney would design for the menz (she’s done it for boys) and this is the closest we’ll get. We can’t wait to see swimmer Mark Foster (dapper in Beijing) and Andy Murray decked out in Stella!

And sadly, this probably won’t mean that Andy’ll get her to design his on-court wear; at least for tennis, the players’ contractual obligations to their clothing sponsors supercede whatever they’ll get from their home team’s olympic committee.

Fall 2010 RTW: On another note, we weren’t too keen on McCartney’s last showing in Paris for the fall RTW collection. See her Fall/Winter 2010 RTW show here.

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Two clutch performances by David Nalbandian at this past weekend’s Davis Cup World Group quarterfinals in Moscow moves Argentina into the next round. Even though he’s been sidelined by injury for the past few months, the former World No. 3 won the opening singles rubber (vs. Davydenko) and the decisive fifth rubber (upsetting the unflappable Mikhail Youzhny), both of which contributed to their 3-2 victory against the Russians. (Read up:Tie Details)

Save for being a British buzz word now that she’s the mascot to Stella McCartney‘s adidas line (and becoming collateral damage in Serena‘s complaints about a royal snubbing), Wimbledon third seed Caroline Wozniacki has gone unnoticed in this past week of play at Wimbledon.

And she bowed out quietly in the fourth round, with Petra Kvitova needing only 46 minutes (and surrending only two games) in a match that sets up the Czech with Kaia Kanepi in the quarters (Draw:Women’s Singles). It also didn’t help that Caro’s dress looked flat next to the ones worn by her top-tier counterparts.

We hope she figures it all out in time for the North American hardcourt swing, when she can rack up points until her New Haven title win and her U.S. Open finals appearance come knocking on her door.

Buy: adidas by Stella McCartney Tennis Performance dress, alloy, $105, adidas.com. (FYI: The dress is now only available in the grey color she wore in Melbourne.)

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While there are crazier things going on across la Manche, the ATPers are doing their part to hold up Wimbledon’s end of the fashion bargain. It’s not quite like the noisemakers of years’ past — with Federer et al embroiled in more serious tennis matters (like premature five-setters and faulty knees) — the military jackets and the dress pants were all left at home. Still, others are stepping up to play with the event’s strict, all-white dress code.

Left to right:Gilles Simon in adidasBarricade Collection; Florent Serra in Wilson; Jarkko Nieminen in Asics.

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We all know how that Andy Murray hasn’t quite mastered the art of grace under pressure (see; 2010 Australian Open Finals), so let’s better hope he can get a few pointers from his team before stepping out for his second round match against Jarkko Nieminen, to be played on Centre Court. The hometown crowd wants him to take the cake, and for good reason: Andy’s had a decent year so far, with some runs deep into Masters Series tournaments alongside that great performance in Melbourne. Even the Royal Family is hip to it, with Queen Elizabeth II scheduled to watch the Scot play on Thursday (her first time at the tournament since 1977).

Top o’ the Bottom: Murray’s section of the bottom half (shared with Rafa Nadal) has some obstacles in the form of Tsonga (quarters), Querrey (fourth round), and Simon (third round). Check out the bracket here.

It’s in his hands now:adidas put Andy in the Barricade line, which for the Wimbledon iteration is accented with deep (“university”) red piping. Off the court, he gets an adi dassler practice tee and a hoodie from the company’s FIFA World Cup merch. This black “Greatest Moments Makana Hoodie” is an homage to the Makana FA, a South Africa-based league founded by political prisoners.

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Let’s all take a break from that epic Wimbledon 2010 first round match between John Isner and Nicholas Mahut (it’s at 38-37 in the fifth set as a I type this) and take a look at Kei Nishikori. Kei had the luck of drawing Rafael Nadal in the first round. He lost the match 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

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In the ball pit: We’re excited to see Nike have a hand in John McEnroe‘s Tennis Academy on Randall Island, which is scheduled to open mid-September. The tennis giant has signed on as its first corporate sponsor, outfitting the students and staff for a minimum of five years. Juniors have been personae non gratae in Nike’s sponsorship agenda thus far, so it’s great to see Johnny Mac leveraging his 30-year relationship with the company to help out the up-and-comers.

Tennis Strategery: The folks over at Fuzzy Yellow Balls are taking their tennis instruction videos to the next level. This week, they’re releasing a series on strategy, and we suggest you take a look. (Your fabulous outfits already make you a winner in our book; you might as well win the match, too!)

Further reading: Tennishead has churned out the second issue of adizine, its PR project for adidas‘ tennis arm. Plenty of cutesy pics of the studs and, uhm, mares, in the stable, including Ivanovic, Henin, Verdasco, Murray, and Tsonga. We liked the ode to the Barricade. (adizine, issue 2)

Further reading, part 2:Lee Goodall and his tennishead team have also produced their e-mag’s 9th issue in time for Wimbledon. (Read)

(OT) One Bus Away: I’m going to keep my fingers crossed hoping that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa‘s 30/10 Transportation Plan will be able to integrate software like OneBusAway, which “helps you find a nearby bus stop anywhere in the city with GPS and then tells you when the next three buses are actually estimated to arrive, rather than scheduled to arrive.” (via Worldchanging)

(OT) Recession Rags Bag: I had a chance to drop by the Recession Rags studio a few months ago, where proprietor Justin Sellman showed me a little bit of what to expect in the coming months from the Brooklyn-based shop, including velvet scarves–I’ll wear it even through our uber-mild L.A. winter–and a bag, pictured, now available on their site.

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German Philipp Kohlschreiber fell to second seed Nole Djokovic at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open — but not without a fight. He took the second set and pushed Djokovic to a tiebreak in the third, exposing the Serb’s weakened game; Djokovic lost to veteran Ivan Ljubicic 7-5, 6-3 in the round after. Up next for Ivan in the quarters is Juan Monaco (!), who beat Gigi Lopez in three sets. (Draw:Men’s Singles.)

Caroline Wozniacki leads the field at this week’s Barclay’s Dubai Tennis Championships as the event’s top seed. She’s off to a decent start so far, beating Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 7-6 (2) in the opening round. And in what could be a duplication of what happened last month in Melbourne, Caro next faces Dubai newbieShahar Peer, whom the Dane beat at the Australian, and then faces Li Na in the round after, who Caro lost to. (Draw:Women’s Singles.)

And two snaps to the Woz for reaching a career-high No. 3 in the SEWTA rankings; she’s currently the only Dane in the top 400.

In the flesh: This live version of the tennis performance dress from adidas by Stella McCartney‘s spring/summer 2010 collection is more fun than we anticipated. The preview pics we saw didn’t show off the mesh on the upper back of the performance dress (it adds an extra layer of sexiness, no?). FYI, Caroline wore the bloomers-esque shorts for Fed Cup play last week.

I know it’s turning out to be a heavy flow day from adidas, but we have one more bit…

Silver lining: In the wake of her dismal Fed Cup performance against Russia (which saw her lose both singles rubbers and the doubles rubber), Ana Ivanovic can take a breather after an announcement today that she’ll extended her partnership with adidas to last for her whole career — and she’ll even become a brand ambassador once she retires. “I feel thrilled to be a member of the adidas family and I am very much looking forward to working with adidas on many projects in the future,” she shared through a press release.

Here’s hoping Ana will find her game soon. Otherwise, she’ll be a brand ambassador before she knows it!

See-through: We’re all about that ton-sur-ton jacquard white top that she wore for her doubles match (alongside Jelena Jankovic), though we were hoping she’d have picked a different, bolder color for her singles rubbers.